If you were to go to the West Seattle Admiral Theater, there is a chance that you may see a picket line and protesters asking for better working conditions, the reinstatement of a former employee, better wages, and the recognition of the Theater Workers Union among other demands. 

However, according to the theater owner Jeff Brein, there is no strike, and no union, “[t]here is not a single active current employee of the theater who is protesting, picketing or otherwise involved in a dispute currently being conducted by former employees and outside people.” 

The strike is in part being organized by the former assistant manager, Kylie McCanne who was fired from the theater. The reason for this firing is drawing questions.

McCanne states that the true reason she was fired was because she “sent a couple emails over the weekend saying, ‘Hey you have under-staffed us, we are not doing well, things are not able to be completed to a satisfactory level, people are not getting their breaks.’”

McCanne goes on to say that the official reason she was cited for being fired was provably false stating, “The first reason they put it there was that the restrooms were not cleaned, and they cited a complaint that they got. That person cited a time that I wasn’t even on shift for.” 

The owner responded by stating, “This employee was fired for what we believe is [just] cause…[w]e do not discuss employee records outside the workplace.”

The reasons for the strike go beyond asking for the reinstatement of McCanne – who is currently barred from entering the property. They are also concerned for the treatment and pay of the other workers. The picketers are asking for “$25/ hour starting wage with cost of living raises.”

When asked if he believes his employee wages are sufficient to provide a reasonable living standard, Brein responded that “[w]ith the exception of our general manager all other positions are part-time and are staffed mostly by students who live at home.” Brein also ordered a directive to “identify the entity that sets city of Seattle minimum wage and ask them this question as well.”

The picketers argue, and Brein confirmed, that the Admiral Theater is the highest-grossing theater in Far Away Entertainment’s portfolio. Far Away Entertainment is the entity that owns the Admiral Theater as well as eight other community theaters in Western Washington. The picketers argue that they should earn more because the Admiral Theater appears to have the means to pay. 

However, Brein argues that,  “The Admiral Theater also has the most debt [in Far Away entertainment’s portfolio] as we continue to pay off a $1.7 million dollar remodel and expansion completed a few years before we were closed during the pandemic…[w]e are not yet at our 2019 revenue levels.”

Brein continued, “[Employees] are paid city of Seattle minimum wage and receive merit and performance increases along the way.” 

McCanne questions the reality of these merit and performance raises stating, “As the assistant manager I was only paid $0.50 more than minimum wage.” McCanne also cited another employee who “has worked there for 15 years…and she only got a raise recently, and it was only $0.15.”

McCanne further raised concerns regarding wage theft and lack of breaks. She said, “Henry worked eight and a half hours, no breaks, not a single time. Nothing. And I worked, I worked for four consecutive 10 hour shifts, no breaks in any of those.”

While Brein did not directly deny that this happened, he did rebut, “Our policy is to follow the law and that includes breaks, not working off the clock and other Washington L&I policies. We investigate any complaints or issues with the manager on duty and enforce this.”

“They were asking me to have people clock out. And then be like hey, stay around…and then you’ll clock back in and work,” said McCanne, citing an example of when she was asked to commit wage theft.

Brein called this statement “Absolutely untrue. We do not hold our employees hostage on site between shifts. They are free to leave and do whatever they want to do.”

The picketers also bring up health and safety concerns for workers as well as theater goers. 

There is “mold in the back room, where we store food,” said McCanne. “I’ve literally pulled out cases of beer, [where] the boxes completely disintegrate. And they would want us to serve that.” 

“Termites are eating out the foundation,” said McCanne, raising further concerns. “They actually ate through a support beam for the shelves.”

Brein amended that there are no ongoing health concerns and the mold had been cleaned. “Over the summer what may have been mold appeared on the floor by (not on) several beer kegs. A Clorox spray eradicated this and we monitor it daily. It has not reappeared,” said Brein.

Brein also stated that the bugs had been eliminated. “Our pest control service said we did not have termites in a small non-public storage area. Whatever they were…[t]hey are no longer there and this area is monitored as a part of our monthly maintenance schedule,” he said.

Lastly, McCanne wanted to make it clear that she still loves the theater. “This theater deserves to be treated with respect,” she stated. As someone who has grown up going to the Admiral Theater this is a sentiment I can agree with. 

The Admiral Theater used to be a beautiful theater, a place you would want to stay at and admire. Unfortunately, in recent years it has come under disrepair. Hopefully, the Admiral can one day return to the beautiful community gathering place it used to be. 

On an unrelated note, the Admiral Theater is now hiring.